Bears, Books and Binds

Today was quite the productive one. It's always nice to reflect back and know that I did something worthwhile. My friend Sarah called me up and asked if I would help her with some self promotional pieces. She came equipped with some great paper and energy. (We notoriously don't get things done together). Anyhow, we decided to go with a journal/sketchbook. We made a few just to start. but I think they turned out pretty good:

The one with the bird in the jar is mine. I recently filled my prior book.

This is a look inside of one of the books that Sarah and I worked on. It is nice and thick and lined with some specialty map paper. It also features an inner side pocket perfect for business cards or other pocket-sized info. The binding is a very simple technique using one piece of thread and 3 holes.

Finally, I also worked on some more valentines. My good friend Nick asked me to contribute some pieces for an event his film company is holding downtown. I decided to make some more grizzly cards:

Please check out Nick @ www.rubbishisgold.com

Please check out Sarah @ www.sarahjulie.com

And finally please check back often with my etsy store as I will be adding more new items like the sketchbooks shown above: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dessertforbreakfast?view_type=gallery

Pizza Time

Wow. I have done a pretty good job of neglecting posts this week. At least that means I have been productive...I think. Anyhow, we had Phil's parents over yesterday for a dinner and game night. We decided to make homemade pizzas. This is something Phil takes very seriously, and he makes all of his dough from scratch. He of course made his signature taco pizza with seasoned ground beef, taco sauce and Mexican cheese blend:

I decided that I wanted to make one too. Sadly and ashamedly, we used to be really bad at letting food go. A ton was being thrown out every couple weeks. Lately, I have been making brand new dishes out of leftovers, and we have been more successful with using up ALL of our food in the fridge. But getting back to the pizza...We had some fresh basil that was about to turn, week old spinach and marinara sauce (that I doctored up) from a few nights earlier. So that is what went on to the dough:

It was even more delicious than we anticipated. The marinara had a ton of flavor in itself, and then I just mixed it with a little bit of pizza sauce to ensure full coverage. I did a chiffonade (rolled the leaves up and then cut them into little ribbons) with the basil so as to not overpower any other flavors. FInally, I did a sprinkling of minced garlic over the whole thing and topped with mozzarella cheese. 

Molto Bene!

Birthday Greetings

I've tried to make a promise to myself that I won't purchase any more cards - for any occasion. I have the tools and the skills to make them, so it's pretty ridiculous not to. I realized that I had a lot of different things for various holidays but nothing really just for birthdays.

I came up with this present design. It is nice and simple and makes great use of scrap fabric, ribbon, etc. It's also generic enough to use for just about any occasion. It's also gender-neutral. All I have to do is make the appropriate fabric/paper choices.

Another thing I like about these is that the time put into them is evident. Each square of fabric is sewn. Each ribbon is sewn. I think it's nice to say, "I care about you so much that I took time to hand make something for you."

Busy, Busy

This weekend has been pretty loaded with activities. However, I will have some new things to post this coming week. Sorry for a slight slump, but please stay posted for more handmade goodness!

Recycled Bird Print

Good evening. Today was a whirlwind day, and it kind of escaped me. Even though Dexter did not take a nap today I did find some time to create a little something. I wasn't in the mood to break out a ton of supplies, so I made something from older materials.

A few years ago I took a screen printing (stencil style) class at my local Museum of Contemporary Art. It was there that I illustrated a bird to put on a tote bag. I liked it so much that instead of trashing my used stencil, I kept it. I didn't know how well it would hold up, but I think it did okay:

I started off by taking some left over Paper Source patterned paper and laying it flat. Then, I took my recycled bird stencil and positioned it on top of the paper. I went through my cans of spray paint and decided that my neon chartreuse would look best. I sprayed my stencil and let it sit for about 30 minutes. After that, it was dry to the touch. I liked how it looked, but it needed some more definition. The spray paint left a 'halo' effect on the paper below. I used a regular Sharpie black marker to outline all of the bird's shapes. Finally, I cut it to the size of my frame and hung it right at eye level at my desk. It didn't take that long, and I am happy with the finished product.

I think tomorrow I may go back to fabric...

Cake - Out of the Box

Hello again. This morning I woke up and had the urge to make...er, bake. I knew that I had a boxed carrot cake mix and some frosting. Knowing that it would be rather bland as is, I added some leftover ingredients we had around the kitchen:

extras: golden raisins, some chopped walnuts, shredded carrots

(and the frosting - coconut pecan)

TIP! I want to add the extras to beef up the mixture and make it really hearty. Before just throwing them in the cake mix, I had a small bowl set aside with a couple tablespoons of flour. By lighting dusting the nuts, carrots and raisins, it insured that they would not sink to the bottom of the batter. (This works with chocolate chips too). This technique allows them to be evenly dispersed throughout your product.

To make matters a little easier, I had some company to talk to me while I was baking and cleaning up:

The hardest part...waiting for it to cool...

Luckily, I have Henrietta to help with the time management.

And finally, after cooling for an hour I got to frost it. This is what it looked like before I inhaled a

big, fat slice:

It was absolutely delicious. I also didn't feel awful for eating it, because it had carrots and nuts and such. To me, that means it is supremely healthy, and it can be eaten multiple slices at a time...am I right!?

Skirting the Issue

Well today was more of an errand day than anything else. I did find some new, clearance fabrics at JoAnn's! I always go to the remnants and red tags first. Luckily, today I found everything I needed/wanted and didn't have to pay full price. Here is the haul (a good mix of chiffon, flannel, cotton and corduroy):

Since I was so fabric inspired today, I thought I would share some of the skirts I have made in the past year. All three of these were made in class at the Singer Factory downtown. The nice thing about making your own clothes is that you know they will fit! Even after all of the cheesecakes and pork chops, I can still put any one of these on without hassle. ;) Here are the skirts in chronological order of which they were made:

Skirt #1 - Classic Pencil

Skirt #2 - Short and Gathered

Skirt #3 - Classic Pencil, elongated w/kick pleat (not shown here)

So there they are. I'd like to say a special thanks to my model, Heloise. She does such a good job of holding them all up. Time to brainstorm my new fabric projects...